Down With the Man

“Study after study finds that, when women run for office, they perform just as well as their male counterparts. No differences emerge in women and men’s fundraising receipts, vote totals, or electoral success. Yet women remain severely under-represented in U.S. political institutions. We argue that the fundamental reason for women’s under-representation is that they do not run for office. There is a substantial gender gap in political ambition; men tend to have it, and women don’t.”

So, what’s to be done about this? According to Mark Perry (at the so-good-if-you-had-to-choose-between-his-blog-and-mine-I’d-say-choose-his Carpe Diem), nothing –

“Like most gender differences in outcomes, there only ever seems to be concern when women are under-represented in fields like politics, and never any concern when men are under-represented for outcomes like bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees, doctor’s degrees, graduate school enrollment, biology degrees, veterinary degrees, optometry degrees, pharmacy degrees, etc. The only exceptions are when the outcomes are negative like prison populations, learning disabilities, occupational injuries and fatalities, motorcycle injuries and fatalities, suicides and drug addiction and then there is no concern about female under-representation. ”

Essentially, Perry says the difference is no big deal. But I think it might be a little bit of a big deal, because I expect the response to this data to be a call for more women to seek office. Well, if women don’t feel like bossing the rest of us then good for them! What women should do is ask themselves why so many men want to give orders, and why anyone, women in particular, should put up with it. Come on, ladies, quit letting the patriarchy push you around! It’s time to get libertarian!